1. Field of the Subject Disclosure
The present subject disclosure relates to antenna verification. More specifically, the present subject disclosure relates to antenna verification via the transmitter or transceiver of a wireless communication device.
2. Background of the Subject Disclosure
In today's world of Machine-to-Machine (M2M) radio communication devices, a wireless transceiver is embedded in several types of devices. For example, municipalities are deploying parking meters which contain a cellular radio transceiver. The parking meter uses this transceiver to communicate information concerning available parking locations, amount of money deposited, meter expiration, mechanical faults, etc., back to a central monitoring office.
Manufacturers of these wireless-capable parking meters are typically looking for the widest possible market for these devices. As a result, if units are selling well in the United States, then a manufacturer may look into selling them in Europe. However, the US and Europe use different frequency bands in the available cellular radio spectrum, and as a result, the frequency range(s) supported by the device's antenna must match the frequency range(s) in use by the device's transmitter in various geographical regions around the world.
Consequently, unless a manufacturer wants to spend money for an antenna that will work in both the US and Europe, he must buy one type of antenna for the parking meters to be sold in the US and another type of antenna for the parking meters to be sold in Europe. However, the radio transceiver in our parking meter example typically supports the bands used in Europe and the US.
It is conceivable that meters that are intended for the US may be deployed in Europe and vice-versa. Transmitting into an antenna that is not optimized for the bands the radio will use in the given geographical area can create performance issues, and in some cases cause the wireless device to violate regulatory requirements. Also, counterfeit antennas or unauthorized antennas may cause the transmitter to create excessive interference to wireless networks, resulting in poor end-user performance, and/or cause the device to exceed regulatory guidelines, including RF exposure.
Clearly, a mechanism is needed whereby the radio transceiver can have knowledge of the antenna's attributes so that the transmitter will only operate on bands supported by the antenna. A mechanism is needed that can identify unauthorized or counterfeit antennas used as part of an M2M integration.